Bitcoin (BTC) hovered at $22,000 at the Wall Street open on July 18 as analysts warned that the bulls would not break resistance in one go.
BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
Could Bitcoin regain bear market support?
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a return of BTC/USD consolidation after hitting a high of $22,500 on Bitstamp.
This level marks the beginning of sell-side trades in the exchanges clustering around the 200-week moving average (WMA), a key area that commentators have argued will be difficult to break.
“We do not expect a continuation on Bitcoin, at this point, as we are facing 200-week mid-term and range resistance,” Michael Van de Poppe, a Cointelegraph contributor, told Twitter followers in his latest update.
Fellow trader and analyst Rekt Capital, like others, was also skeptical that Bitcoin could continue its bullish momentum immediately.
However, Van de Poppe added that a market break would be profitable at current levels. he completed:
“Slight consolidation would lead to a continuation and a break above $22.6K would activate huge long positions towards $28,000. Good times.”
Bitcoin and altcoins made the most of the stock markets today, with Asia and the US posting modest gains as the US dollar weakened.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are up 0.7% and 1% respectively at the time of writing, one hour after the opening bell.
“Bitcoin prime time,” on-chain analytics resource Whalemap meanwhile predicted, providing a more upbeat experience based on prime buyer interest at a below-spot price.
Data from Material Indexes, a fellow monitoring resource, showed similar support based on Binance’s order book.
BTC/USD (Binance) order book data. Source: Material Indicators
Ethereum maintains performance
On altcoins, Ether (ETH) was still stealing supply, which remained near $1,500 after closing its highest in more than a month, with huge gains against Bitcoin implied.
Related: Bitcoin Miners ‘Finally Surrendered’ – 5 Things to Know in Bitcoin This Week
ETH/USD (Binance) 1 day candle chart. Source: TradingView
Outperforming Bitcoin’s advance, ETH/USD was the darling of day traders, leading to a sharp pullback in the terrible price action that was in place from May onwards at the start of Terra (LUNA) – now called Terra Classic (LUNC) – a disaster.
The next resistance lies in the form of the all-time high for Ethereum from the previous Bitcoin halving cycle at $1,530, which it touched in early 2018.
